Hunter Hayes Overcoming ‘Heartbreak’ in First Single in Three Years [Listen]

Hunter Hayes has made his return to country music with his new single "Heartbreak," off his forthcoming third album due out later this year.

Somehow Hayes has the ability to take a song about heartbreak and create a positive and upbeat anthem out of a usually sad situation. Mix that with an infectious rhythm and catchy lyrics, and Hayes may have a hit on his hands.

The single is giving fans an early taste of the direction for his upcoming album. The singer-songwriter released "Heartbreak" early Friday (Jan. 25). Hayes wrote the song by himself, something he hadn't done in years.

“I remember the day I wrote 'Heartbreak,' I felt relieved but also elated. I was on fire,” Hayes says in a press release.

Hayes says that it was the same feeling he felt in the past with hits like "I Want Crazy."

"Right after I wrote ‘One Shot,’ I had the idea to start journaling love songs to my future better half. After a relationship ends, I think we all want to know that there is someone for us but unfortunately, a lot of people have been led to believe that you’re supposed to feel sh---y after a breakup," he says. "I wanted this song to turn that feeling around for people and remind them not to let someone walk out the door with your happiness and your self-worth ... It’s a song about freedom. It’s a song about true honest happiness and love and how there is love for everyone. Not only are you worthy of being loved but there is somebody out there who loves you even though they haven’t met you. In the darkness of a heart breaking, I’m here to tell you there’s also a whole lotta light.”

Hayes has been teasing fans with a behind-the-scenes look at his "Heartbreak" video when they pre-save the new single. The single cover fittingly features a prism-like heart that has been split into two pieces.

Though he hasn't officially released a radio single since 2016, in 2018 Hayes put out a brutally honest song titled "Dear God." The song has earned over 22 million streams globally to date. He also released a three-part mini-movie set in the 1950s titled Pictures that followed storylines of domestic violence, racial differences, and a powerful love while also acting as music videos for his songs, “You Should Be Loved,” “More” and “This Girl.”

Did You Know? Hayes was a child prodigy who got onstage and jammed with stars when he was very young.

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Hunter Hayes' "Heartbreak" Lyrics:

Another almost perfect / Didn't work but totally worth it / Better to have loved and lost my mind than lose the nerve to even try / Another conversation awkward but the ice is breaking / I've been in some sh-t relationships but I remain an optimist / It's not a game I'm playing, it's not a thrill I'm chasing / Well like a space I'm saving and I don't even know your name.

Chorus:But if it gets me to you then it ain't wasted time / But every so close I'm closer to the rest of my life.

Another bad first date / Another nothing left to say / What I mean is the way I'm seeing I'm one heartbreak closer to you Ooo / You Ooo.

Hey baby / Can I call you baby / Is that okay / I don't even know you but I can't wait to know you someday / Imagine someday when we look back I'll thank my past for giving me my future better half / I'm sorry for the time it's taking but I'm gonna make it worth the waiting / And all this strong love that I learned from was just practice for the right one.

Repeat Chorus

Another just got played / A shot of bourbon for the pain / What I mean is the way I see it I'm one heartbreak closer to you Ooo / You Ooo.